Faded
by its.me.beches457
Summary: Bethany can't remember anything about herself and who she once was before the bombs dropped. After crawling out of Vault 111 she is now on a mission to regain her memory.


Bethany stared out into the distance on the platform of the Vault 111. The last thing she remembered before waking up in the cryopod was staring at the mushroom cloud that spewed ash and death into the sky. The world was ruined, it was full of rust and debris.

Everyone in the vault was dead and the only thing she had to show for making it out was a dusty pipboy, a small duffle bag, and giant cockroach bites. She had no memory of her life before the bomb and none of the terminals gave her any clues other than her own name.

Not knowing what else to do, she stepped off the platform and walked down the sun baked path to the small town at the bottom of the hill, her prosthetic leg still stiff from lack of use. She was glad for the heat of the sun hanging high overhead that warmed her chilled bones though she knew that she would come to hate the over bearing ball of fire soon enough.

She snapped the baton open as she crossed the bridge into the destroyed houses. The sight of the stripped trees and crumbling road filled her with dread. She didn't know what this place was other than a small collection of houses but seeing the world this decayed was horrifying. Was there anyone left alive out here anymore? If her vault failed, what was to say that the others did not as well? She walked along the concrete road, occasionally stopping to check the houses that were little more than rubble. She found a few more bullets for her 10mm pistol and some stimpaks but other than a broken Mr. Handy there wasn't much else. She sat down on the sidewalk beside the metal scrap heep that use to be a robot and ran her hands through her black long hair.

All Bethany felt at that moment was frustration. "What the hell am I going to do..." She whispered to herself. She just stared at the pavement running scenarios through her head. None of them ended well. She would either starve to death or die of exposure or whatever giant bugs were out there. The longer she thought, the heavier the gun on her belt felt. It would be a preferable way to go. Quick and painless and on her own terms. She flipped the stainless steel weapon in her hands trying to work up the courage to put it to her temple. She had no other reason to stick around she kept telling herself. Everyone was dead. Every last person. They had to be in this desolate wasteland.

She moved the cold metal to her head, taking a shaky breath. It was better than the alternative. She squeezed her eyes tight and held a finger on the trigger. In one moment it would all be over and Bethany would no longer have to worry about what else was out there.

Bethany's hand dropped to her side when she couldn't muster the strength to do it. The gun clattered against the sidewalk. "Son of a fucking bitch..." She growled through gritted teeth as hot tears ran down her cheeks. She picked up the baton and threw it across the road but the sound of it hitting the side of a house did little to calm her frayed nervs. She stood up and began walking down the road again to head out of the ruins that acted as tombstones of a time she could not even remember.

As she walked, she tried to jog more of her memory. She did not want her earliest and only recall of her former life to be watching the end of Man rising angrily in the background. However, no matter how many times she questioned herself on what she did for a living, who her family was, or anything significant Bethany could not bring the answers to mind. Everything was blank. Ever since she crawled out of that cryopod she couldn't remember anything. It was as if Vault 111 was the only thing she had ever known, but that couldn't be right. How else would she know how to speak or even the proper way to hold a gun?

Bethany looked into the distance as a building came into view. It appeared to be a car garage, though she thought Red Rocket was a dumb name for a garage.

Bark

She stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of a dog barking. It appeared to be coming from the Red Rocket. She waited a few seconds for the bark to come again incase she was already going crazy. A large dog walked up the hill from the parking lot of the garage. It surprised her to see a healthy and normal creature when up until this point roaches were the only living thing she had come into contact with. The dog looked at her for a few seconds and perked his ears up and trotted over.

He stopped in front of her and gave a playful bark, dancing back and forth on his two front paws. She couldn't help but laugh and pet the friendly animal's head. She suddenly felt so much less lonely. "You have no idea how glade I am to see a friendly face little guy." The dog barked again and wagged his tail.

"Alright boy, you wanna walk with me for a while? I could use the company." Bethany gave the back of his neck a good scratch and stood up and inspected the Red Rocket. There could be useful supplies there she supposed.

The building was covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime from who knows how long. She'd have to figure out at some point how long she was out. She scoured the building for anything useful. She found a can of Cram and put it in her bag along with a syringe of Med-x. Barking from the office caught her attention. She walked in the see the dog looking at what appeared to be a metal tin with masking tape over it. The dog looked back at her and whined slightly before looking back at the tin. Bethany picked it up and read the label, raising an eyebrow. "Caps?" She pondered and opened the container. It had about 12 bottle caps from Nuca-Cola bottles. She felt it strange that someone would put caps in this, but the dog seemed to think it important enough to point it out to her. She shrugged and put them in the bag before giving the dog a thankful head pat.

Nothing else in the building looked useful enough to nab she rationalized and she started down the road again, smiling as the dog followed.

After a few minuets of walking a town appeared at the bottom of the hill. It was full of old styled shops and houses. A quick look at the outdated map on her pipboy told her the community was called Concord. Now there had to be some supplies there worth taking.

The sound of gunshots startled her as they rang out from the settlement. Her heart raced as the thought of people gave her more hope. Despite the argument that running away from firing guns was the better judgement, Bethany picked up her feet and sprinted towards the town.

She charged through the under brush and over rocks, nearly tripping over her own feet as she came to the outskirts of the town. The sound of gunshots grew louder. It seemed to be coming from the main road. Maybe they needed help from whatever beasts were hanging around.

Finally Bethany approached the source of the firing and the pit of her stomach twisted seeing what appeared to be a gang of people from straight out of a comic book, like raiders. They were opening fire at a small group of travel weary folk who had little cover from the attacks. Bethany quickly ducked behind a nearby building and pulled out her pistol. Those in front of the large building needed help but she wasn't sure if she should provide it. She could just walk away and leave them to their own defenses but that could be condemning them to death. She did not like that idea. She looked back out at the raiders. There was one close by and he had yet to notice her. "Damn me to hell." She groaned to herself and aimed.

The pistol rang and the raider fell when the bullet pierced through his skull. She heard yelling ahead of her. "Son of a bitch, they've got back up!" If they had not spotted her before they sure as hell noticed her now. She heard footsteps approaching her, a single pair running up the sidewalk. Bethany looked past the lip of the wall and aimed once more at the woman sprinting at her with a crowbar. The woman stumbled back as Bethany shot her three times and the raider collapsed from her wounds.

Bethany moved from her position, sneaking as silently as she could to get a new vantage point. A opening where a door use to be worked as the perfect cover looking out to the rest of the raiders from large blown out picture windows. With a few more shots she took down a man and winged another. The group in front of the building finished off the rest.

Bethany waited as she watched them and hoped they were not hostiles as well. A soft face man with dark skin looked about the open road and called out. He wore some strange get up and a stupid hat. "You better come inside with us. There will be more soon." He turned around and ushered the party of five including himself into the large building.

The dog whined and stared at the door, licking his chops. "I'm going to guess those are your friends." She sighed and ruffled his ears. Six was better than one after all.

Bethany stepped out from the shadows and opened the weather worn oak doors.


End file.
